Alcohol and drugs have always been associated with crime, as almost all kinds of crime are committed under the influences of either alcohol or drugs. Their use have negative effects on all aspects of life. People who abuse alcohol or drugs are not able to control themselves. These substances negatively affect personality, family and society. Driving under the influence is a real problem that has been existing for many years. It is not a surprise that accidents caused by driving under the influence are frequently fatal not only for the driver, but also for innocent passersby. Drivers can be under the influence of either drugs or alcohol. Both actions are illegal and prohibited by the law, as put the people in the society in danger.
Drunk Driving
Driving under the influence of alcohol is an extremely dangerous one, as its use negatively affects the functioning of the central nervous system. It also affects person’s cognitive skills as well as psychomotor skills, but all these skills are required for the safe driving. Thus, driving under the influence of alcohol is the unsafe one. It results in car accidents, injuries and deaths ("Driving while impaired", n.d.).
In 2011, driving under the influence of alcohol was one of the most common types of crime. However, historically the situation was not always like that; driving under the influence of alcohol was considered not a serious offence a few decades ago. However, beginning from 1980, people noticed detrimental effects of driving under the influence of the alcohol and no longer accepted drinking and driving. Nowadays drunk drivers are outcasts, because driving under the influence became not socially acceptable. That is why all states took measures and now regard the problem of drunk driving as a serious one (Travis & Edwards, 2015, n.p.).
Since there appeared an urgent need to manage driving behavior, a lot of effort is made in order to gain control over the situation (Travis & Edwards, 2015, n.p.).
Driving under the Influence of Drugs
Like drunk driving, driving under the influence of drugs is unsafe. Drugged drivers put at risk not only themselves, but also their passengers and passersby. Why is it dangerous to drive under the influence of drugs? The answer is clear. Irrespective on the type of drugs, they may cause fatal consequences. The effect of marijuana, for instance, is represented in the slower reaction time and poor attention; impair sense of distance, as well as time; bad motor coordination. Driving under the influence of cocaine and methamphetamine is, as a rule, reckless and aggressive. Sedatives often cause dizziness that also leads to accidents on the road with fatal effects ("Drugged Driving", 2015, n.p.).
Most often people drive under the influence of alcohol and marijuana. The biggest problem with driving under the influence of drugs is that there is no good test for detecting the level of drugs in the body. Very often drivers use drugs with alcohol and thus they are tested for alcohol, not for drugs, as it does not change the charge of driving under the influence ("Drugged Driving", 2015, n.p.).
Drugged driving has become a problem not only for adults but also for teens, as teen drivers under the influence are not able to estimate dangerous situations on the road correctly and quickly. This is mainly due to the lack of experience, but drug use also plays an integral part in this process ("Drugged Driving", 2015, n.p.).
Statistics Data
Statistics data of the National Survey on Drug Use and Health show that in 2012, 9.9 million people older than 12, reported about drugged driving. Although, the rate seems enormous, it is lower than in 2013 ("Drugged Driving", 2015, n.p.). This shows that the situation is worsening and measures should be taken to deal with the problem of driving under the influence.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 22% of drivers were under the influence of drugs, either illegal or prescription ones. This occurred both in daytime and in nighttime. However, driving under the influence of illegal drugs increased in the nighttime, as opposed to the driving under the influence of prescription drugs. The situation also depends on whether it is a weekday or a weekend ("Drugged Driving", 2015, n.p.).
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health’s data indicate that drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs are most often men and adults aged from 18 to 25 ("Drugged Driving", 2015, n.p.).
Legal Aspects of Driving under the Influence
Many states consider new pieces of legislature referring to drinking under the influence. In 2000, a standard of blood alcohol level was established and amounted to 0.08. However, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended reducing this limit to 0.05 (Travis & Edwards, 2015, n.p.).
Federal Law requires all states to adopt repeat offender laws and open container laws if they do not want to lose the transportation funding. There also are alcohol exclusion laws, which allow insurance companies not to pay for drunk drivers’ treatment, if the injuries were suffered in the accident caused by their driving under the influence ("State Drunk Driving Laws", 2016, n.p.).
For driving under the influence, judges may require the convicted to install some types of ignition interlocks, according to the ignition interlock law. Installed in the cars interlocks detect the alcohol in the breath of the driver, and if he/she is not sober, the car will not start because the interlock will disable the engine ("State Drunk Driving Laws", 2016, n.p.).
Penalties for Driving under the Influence
Although penalties for driving under the influence of alcohol vary from state to state, 0.08% and higher of blood alcohol concentration is considered a crime in all states. 42 of them allow confiscating driver’s licenses if drivers fail a chemical test ("State Drunk Driving Laws", 2016, n.p.).
Driving under the influence can result in imprisonment. Prison terms differ from state to state, but they can be even of seven years and more. Drivers under the influence can also be fined. Amounts of fines are different depending on the state, but there is a possibility to be fined up to $10,000. The court can also sentence a person for driving under the influence with probation. In that case, the court imposes on the drivers numerous restrictions and it is a must for them to comply with those restrictions. For driving under the influence, people can be obliged to receive drug or alcohol counseling and to some other things aimed at preventing driving under the influence repetition. People who drive under the influence can also face driving restrictions. This means the limitations of the driving privileges for 90 days and more. Depending on the case circumstances, these limitations can last for several years or even longer (Theoharis, n.d., n.p.).
Conclusion
Driving under the influence is the urgent problem that needs to be solved as soon as possible. The statistics data prove that the situation with driving under the influence is not becoming better, but is getting worse from year to year. The sad fact is that driving under the influence involves not only adults, but also teens aged from 18 to 25.
People drive under the influences of different illegal substances. They can be alcohol, sedatives, drugs like marijuana and cocaine. Very often people drive under the influence of both alcohol and drugs, that makes it more difficult for the police officers to detect the effect of which particular component in their blood caused the accident on the road. Speaking about teenagers, driving under the influence for them is even more dangerous, because they do not have enough driving experience to take control over the difficult situation on the road and this often brings fatal results.
Criminal justice system is constantly working on the ways to prevent dangerous situations on the road and putting people’s lives at risk. Every state admitted that driving under the influence is illegal. If the level of alcohol in drivers’ blood is 0.08 or more, they will be charged with driving under the influence felony and accompanying penalties will be applied to them. These penalties also differ somewhat from state to state, but all of them imply imprisonment, fines, probation and limitations of driving privileges.
The fact that the number of people driving under the influence is getting bigger from year to year shows that the government actions on solving this problem are not effective enough. Since driving under the influence causes injuries and very often deaths, more attention should be paid to solving this problem, maybe more sever punishments should be applied to people who drink and drive, as drunk and drugged drivers often kill themselves and many innocent people because of reckless driving.
References
Driving while impaired. Ncadd.org. Retrieved 21 May 2016, from https://www.ncadd.org/about-addiction/driving-while-impaired-alcohol-and-drugs
Drugged Driving. (2015). Drugabuse.gov. Retrieved 21 May 2016, from https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/drugfacts/drugged-driving
Theoharis, M. When DUI is Considered a Felony: Penalties and Laws | Criminal Law. CriminalDefenseLawyer.com. Retrieved 21 May 2016, from http://www.criminaldefenselawyer.com/crime-penalties/federal/Felony-DUI.htm
Travis, L. & Edwards, B. (2015). Introduction to criminal justice.
